Discover the 7 Deadly Workout Sins AND How to Fix Them to Go From Metabolic Rut to Metabolic Breakthrough!

I hope you enjoyed yesterday’s guest post from BJ.  Today he’s back with Part 3 of The 7 Deadly Workout Sins.

This is another MUST-READ POST.

Deadly Workout Sin #3 – Using single-joint isolation exercises that address only one plane of movement

When we discussed Deadly Workout Sin#1, we mentioned the disgraceful practice of training each muscle group one time per week. Well, to make the matter even worse, lots of fitness enthusiasts will comprise these body part workouts with useless single-joint isolation exercises that often take place in only one plane of movement.

How often do you find yourself doing this movement during the day??

Yep, not too functional

Single-joint, isolation exercises involve the use of only one joint at a time. Classic examples are leg extensions and leg curls (only involve the knee joint) and biceps curls and triceps extensions (only involve the elbow joint). Though these single-joint, isolation exercises may result in a better “pump” or “burn” in a specific muscle that makes it feel more effective, it doesn’t mean that they are providing the optimal muscle-building stimulus when compared to their multi-joint, compound counterparts.

Multi-joint, compound exercises involve functional movement patterns that occur in the real world across multiple joints at the same time thus resulting in greater total muscle activation and heavier loading and subsequently greater calorie burning, fat loss, and muscle growth. For our purposes, there are six foundational movement patterns that comprise the ultimate total body metabolic workout:

Hip-Dominant: Any exercise that primarily targets your posterior chain (glutes, hamstrings, and spinal erectors) and involves the flexion, extension, rotation, adduction, and abduction of the hips. In addition, lower body exercises where your torso is bent forward more than 45-degrees are best classified as hip-dominant. The exception to this rule is for any exercise where the upper body is NOT actively involved like a hip extension. Classic hip-dominant exercises include deadlift, step-up, hip extension, and swings.

Push: Any exercise that primarily targets your chest, anterior and medial shoulders, and triceps and involves a pushing pattern in either the horizontal or vertical plane. Horizontal pushing exercises involve pushing a load away from your torso as if your torso was upright while performing them. Classic examples include push-up and chest press variations. Vertical pushing exercises involve pushing a load in an upward or downward direction relative to an upright torso. Classic examples include dip, vertical push-up or overhead press variations.

Knee-Dominant: Any exercise that primarily targets your quadriceps and involves the flexion and extension of your knees. In addition, lower body exercises that actively involve your upper body and where your torso is vertical or bent forward less than 45-degrees are best classified as knee-dominant. Classic knee-dominant exercises include squat and lunge variations.

Pull/Scapulothoracic: Any exercise that primarily targets your lats, posterior shoulders, upper and mid back, scapulothoracic joint, biceps and forearms and involves a pulling pattern in either the horizontal or vertical plane. Horizontal pulling exercises involve pulling a load towards your torso as if your torso was upright while performing them. Classic examples include rowing and Y, T, W, L, I raise variations. Vertical pulling exercises involve pulling a load in an upward or downward direction relative to an upright torso. Classic examples include pull-up, pull-down, high pull, and bicep curl variations.

Pillar- Integrated Shoulders, Hips, and Core: Any exercise that primarily targets your shoulders, hips, and core. The primary objective is to train spinal stabilization in all 3 planes of movement including anti-flexion, anti-extension, anti-lateral flexion, and anti-rotation. Classic examples include front, side, and back pillar or plank variations. Pillar movements also include functional, ground-based rotational exercises like chopping variations.

Total Body: Any exercise that integrates any combination of the aforementioned movement patterns or simultaneously calls upon your upper and lower body. The total body nature of these exercises also results in maximum heart rate elevation and the optimal fat-burning, muscle-building stimulus. Classic examples include squat to presses, swings, and explosive olympic lifting variations like cleans, snatches, jerks, etc. In addition, traditional cardiovascular locomotive and plyometric exercises like running, leaping, hopping, skipping, bounding, jumping, shuffling, etc. also fit under this category.

In a study at Ball State University, researchers determined that additional isolation exercises for the arms had no additional benefit in terms of arm strength and hypertophy (muscle growth). One group did four compound upper body exercises (like presses and rows) in each workout while the other group did the same four exercises plus some extra biceps curls and triceps extensions. Since they both achieved the same results it appears that single-joint, isolation exercises have minimal if any benefit.

So now that we know the importance of training movement patterns (not body parts) with multi-joint, compound exercises, let’s not forget about the importance of incorporating exercises that occur across multiple planes of movement.

Too often people perform exercises in only one plane of movement, typically the sagittal plane that encompasses movement up and down and front to back and divides the body into left and right halves. The classic exercises that fit the bill here are bench presses and squats.

However, movement in life and athletics occurs in three planes of motion: sagittal, frontal, and transverse. Frontal plane movements occur side-to-side and divide the body into front and back halves. Transverse plane movements occur in a rotational manner and divide the body into upper and lower halves.

Let’s use the lunge as an example. A forward lunge takes place in the sagittal plane, where a lateral lunge takes place in the frontal plane, where a rotational lunge takes place in the transverse plane. Performing lunge variations in all three planes of movements best ensures optimal strength, functional carryover, muscle gain, and proper muscular balance. This in turn improves posture and injury reduction.

I should add that performing exercises in free space is ideal (also termed “free weights”). Machines limit movement to a fixed path and do not properly engage your body’s key stabilizers, particularly your hip, spinal, and scapular stabilizers, which will put you at a much greater risk of injury outside of the gym.

THE FIX: Employ functional multi-joint, compound movement patterns that address all three planes of movement for maximum muscle growth, fat loss, and metabolic spikes.

Want to go from metabolic rut to metabolic breakthrough? Join us at Look Great at the Lake Boot Camp! For a FREE trial to please visit www.LookGreatAtTheLakeBootCamp.com or call 952-956-2016 TODAY!!

HAVE FAITH & TAKE ACTION!

Justin Yule, B.S., CPT, YFS

Your friendly neighborhood Chaska / Chanhassen / Eden Prairie boot camp instructor and online personal trainer.

Burn 9x more fat at a fraction of the cost of other personal training programs.

P.S. – For a FREE 2-week Trial to the area’s number one weight loss & fitness boot camp visit www.LookGreatAtTheLakeBootCamp.com

P.P.S. – Check out our ONLINE PERSONAL TRAINING BOOT CAMP at

Discover the 7 Deadly Workout Sins AND How to Fix Them to Go From Metabolic Rut to Metabolic Breakthrough!

I hope you enjoyed yesterday’s guest post from BJ.  Today he’s back with Part 2 of The 7 Deadly Workout Sins.

This is another MUST-READ POST.

Deadly Workout Sin #2 – Performing marathon workouts lasting 60 minutes or longer

I’m not sure what it is about our society that thinks its cool to do things for an incredibly long period of time. There’s no better example of this than the typical college student who brags to his or her friends about pulling an all-nighter to cram for a final exam. In reality, best results would have been achieved by spreading out all of that studying over the course of the entire semester in order to achieve true and lasting knowledge rather than simple and useless short-term memory. I’d be lying if I said I’ve never procrastinated before myself as I’m literally writing this article the day before its due date– but don’t tell my editor, wink. 

Fitness is no different. What do most people who want to lose weight do? They either sign up to run a marathon and/or join a gym to do endless hours of long, slow, boring cardio on a treadmill, elliptical, bike, or step machine.

On a side note, if I ever see you “getting your cardio-on” while reading a magazine or checking your email I will slap you in the mouth and have you arrested for being a hopeless moron.

Why so harsh??

Well, a landmark aerobic training study from the International Journal of Sports Nutrition determined that 45 minutes of steady state aerobic training 5 days per week had zero effect over dieting alone when it came to weight loss— that’s 45 hours of activity for nothing! However, the lack of results wasn’t solely due to the length of the workouts, but also the low-intensity nature of these workouts.

 45 hours of long, slow, boring cardio is proven to provide ZERO weight loss over dieting alone!!

THE FIX: Shorter, more focused and intense workouts produce better results than one hour plus marathon sessions. If you have to workout for longer than 30-45 minutes to feel satisfied than you probably weren’t working hard enough in the first place or you were committing some form of the other deadly workout sins.

In addition, long, drawn out workouts have diminishing returns and create a negative hormonal environment in our bodies. That’s because during one-hour plus exercise bouts our body enters survival mode and releases a catabolic stress hormone called cortisol that both causes muscle loss and results in unwanted fat gain in trouble spot areas.

According to the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), anabolic, muscle-building hormones like testosterone are maximized in about a 30-minute high-intensity workout window. It is at about the 45-minute mark that anabolic hormones begin to fall as their catabolic counterparts, mainly cortisol, simultaneously begin to rise.

Want to go from metabolic rut to metabolic breakthrough? Join us at Look Great at the Lake Boot Camp! For a FREE trial to please visit www.LookGreatAtTheLakeBootCamp.com or call 952-956-2016 TODAY!!

HAVE FAITH & TAKE ACTION!

Justin Yule, B.S., CPT, YFS

Your friendly neighborhood Chaska / Chanhassen / Eden Prairie boot camp instructor and online personal trainer.

Burn 9x more fat at a fraction of the cost of other personal training programs.

P.S. – For a FREE 2-week Trial to the area’s number one weight loss & fitness boot camp visit www.LookGreatAtTheLakeBootCamp.com

P.P.S. – Check out our ONLINE PERSONAL TRAINING BOOT CAMP at

Discover the 7 Deadly Workout Sins AND How to Fix Them to Go From Metabolic Rut to Metabolic Breakthrough!

Look Great at the Lake Boot Camp HQ has been really buzzing for the last several weeks.  Between the new Eden Prairie locations, the Back-to-School Challenge and the Groupon deal I’ve been quite busy, to say the least.  Fortunately, I absolutely LOVE IT!

Well, I’ve been really behind on providing the usual daily fitness information that I really enjoy providing in this blog.  To help me out over the next couple weeks, my buddy BJ Gaddor, co-owner and fitness director of Workout Muse, hooked me up with some killer content to give to you.  It’s so great having friends like BJ and Dave Schmitz to talk shop and share ideas with, especially because we’re totally on the same page with our approach to training.  I know you’re gonna love this 7 part series.

This is a MUST-READ POST.

Deadly Workout Sin #1 – Performing daily body part workouts

One of the longest running inside jokes within the fitness industry is the fact that Monday is “international chest day” where most gym-goers will do endless sets and reps of bench presses and chest flies until their boobies “burn so good” and swell as if being nipped by a swarm of ginormous mosquitoes.

I think it’s safe to say most people do NOT want to look like this…

We can thank the drug-abusing bodybuilding world for the concept of training one body part per day for best results. If you open the typical bodybuilding magazine, below is a great example of a training program you might come across (or some variation of this):

Monday- Chest

Tuesday- Quads

Wednesday- Back

Thursday- Hamstrings

Friday- Triceps

Saturday- Biceps

Sunday- Calves

Please keep in mind that when you take a cocktail of anabolic performance enhancing agents, just about anything you do will result in less fat and more muscle– not to mention a host of deadly side effects and the possibility of growing a tail (anything is possible).

The reality is that training your whole body more frequently will result in bigger strength and muscle gain, greater fat loss, and more metabolic boosts than training each muscle group once per week– and the science supports this.

In a recent study at the University of Alabama, researchers had two groups of men perform two different strength-training programs with the same total training volume (sets and reps) for each muscle group. However, one group split the work across three total body workouts while the other group trained each muscle group separately one time per week. They discovered that the total body workout group gained five additional pounds of lean muscle mass compared to their body-part training counterparts.

It’s critical to understand that the more muscle you have the greater your resting metabolic rate (RMR). Your RMR is the total number of calories you burn every day regardless of activity and adding several pounds of lean muscle mass will result in an additional daily calorie burn of up to several hundred extra calories per day. This translates into an awesome fat-smashing snowball effect over the course of weeks, months, and years. Think of more muscle as the fat-burning gift that keeps on giving.

Another benefit of having more muscle is that your body’s carbohydrate tank gets bigger. The human body has a limited ability to store glycogen (sugar) in your muscles and liver before it spills over into the blood stream and leads to unwanted fat gain. The total amount of glycogen your body can hold, or your sugar tank, depends on a host of factors including gender, body size, age, etc. However, by building more muscle through high-intensity training your body can subsequently store more sugar.

For example, let’s just say that your sugar tank was originally 250 grams of carbs but is now 300 grams due to intensive training and muscle-gain. The extra 50 grams of leeway before your sugar tank over flows means two things:

1.) You can consume more total carbohydrates before your sugar tank reaches capacity where you then begin to gain fat and smooth out unless that energy is expended. It’s just like when you overfill the gas tank in your car— the fuel spills on the floor and all over your hands and shoes costing you money and making you a pyromaniac’s wet dream. Though consuming excess sugar may not be as deadly, it’s the source of the raging obesity epidemic plaguing our sedentary society and leads to host of scary health problems like heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, metabolic disorder, etc.

2.) The lower your sugar tank the more your body will revert to using both dietary and stored fat to make up for that energy deficit. Thus if you gained more muscle and simply consumed the same amount of total carbohydrates, you will automatically burn more fat for fuel throughout the day. Now if you consume less total carbs in conjunction with more muscle mass then you will be a lean, mean fat-melting machine.

Plus, it doesn’t take a genius to realize that working your entire body each workout will torch more calories and thus accelerate metabolism and fat loss results. More muscles used equals more total work performed equals more total sugar, fat and calories expended– all good stuff!

Lastly, it appears that it’s best to wait about 48 hours before performing your next total body workout. In multiple studies at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, researchers determined that muscle protein synthesis was elevated for up to 48 hours after a resistance training workout before it returned to normal. Performing another total body workout with less than 48 hours of recovery may not allow for adequate muscle repair thus impairing performance.

THE FIX: For busy people looking for the biggest bang for their fitness buck, best results will be achieved with 3 total body workouts per week with ideally 48 hours between workouts to maximize muscle growth and recovery.

Want to go from metabolic rut to metabolic breakthrough? Join us at Look Great at the Lake Boot Camp! For a FREE trial to please visit www.LookGreatAtTheLakeBootCamp.com or call 952-956-2016 TODAY!!

HAVE FAITH & TAKE ACTION!

Justin Yule, B.S., CPT, YFS

Your friendly neighborhood Chaska / Chanhassen / Eden Prairie boot camp instructor and online personal trainer.

Burn 9x more fat at a fraction of the cost of other personal training programs.

P.S. – For a FREE 2-week Trial to the area’s number one weight loss & fitness boot camp visit www.LookGreatAtTheLakeBootCamp.com

P.P.S. – Check out our ONLINE PERSONAL TRAINING BOOT CAMP at www.OnlineVideoBootCamp.com

We’re about halfway through summer, and a lot of folks are really training hard to lose weight and burn fat. 

Several of my Chanhassen Boot Camp members are really getting after it 6 days a week right now!  We’ve stepped up the intensity of class and we offered another fat melting cardio blitz program for the days in between. 

Needless to say the boot camp classes and the walk-run club are working wonders for our members.  However, with extra intense training comes beat up bodies and potentially injuries. 

To help us with that, I’ve got another great article from Craig Ballantyne.  He’s going to share his 3 secrets to recover from a muscle injury fast.

3 Secrets to Recover From a Muscle Injury Fast

By Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS

Author, Turbulence Training

This article on the 3 secrets to faster recovery from muscle injuries another great article to print out and file!

But first, confession time.  Despite everything we know old meatheads like me still end up hurting ourselves in the gym. But I’m lucky, because I heal quickly.

Now when you have a serious injury, you have to go to the doctor.  There is nothing that I can do to help you – sorry!

NOTE #1 – I hope you never, ever get hurt!

NOTE #2 – If you do get hurt, the most important thing for you to do is get your injury checked out by a doctor.

Please be conservative!

But when I get a little muscle strain, I just use these 3 simple secrets for fast recovery. These secrets were given to me by my chiropractor. 

1) Apply Ice immediately

Start by icing for ten minutes, then take ten minutes off, and then ice again for ten minutes.

(NOTE: Keep a thin moist towel between ice and skin to prevent skin damage.)

Ice the injury 3 times daily for the first 72 hours (morning, noon, and night). Of course, if the injury is severe, go immediately to the hospital.

2) Perform frequent, low-intensity activation of the injured muscle

Chiropractor Dr. Michael Sommers says, “You want to start the healing process by moving the muscle through very low intensity movements, and doing this frequently in the early period after injury.”

This low-intensity exercise keeps blood flowing throughout the muscle and prevents over-shortening during recovery.

For example, if you have a sore hamstring, Dr. Sommers suggests, “walking and doing low intensity leg swings will help recovery. But don’t do anything that involves too much exertion.”

(NOTE: If you aren’t sure what to do, ask your therapist…more about their role in secret #3 below.)

Personally, I also add in light, frequent stretching for the sore muscle. I’ll do one light 20-second stretch every hour or two, and that seems to help me.

3) See a therapist immediately…preferably someone skilled in A.R.T. (Active Release Techniques)

According to Dr. Sommers, “For most soft-tissue injuries A.R.T. is the best therapy to reduce scar-tissue build-up and to promote ideal muscle length through the healing process.”

“While other therapies can provide relief (ultrasound and TENS may have some effect), A.R.T combined with specific stretching and exercise seems to heal the tissue in the shortest to time with the lowest incidence of re-injury,” says Dr. Sommers.

In addition to getting A.R.T. treatment, a great therapist will give you a professional advice/assessment to gauge an appropriate time to return to training.

As Dr. Sommers says, “Re-injury is commonplace with weight training. Without the proper guidance it is all to easy to re-aggravate soft tissue injuries and triple the amount of time it will take to heal.”

Now I may push too hard in the gym, but I’m at least smart enough to stop pushing once the injury has occurred. And I’m also smart enough to go in for treatment ASAP after the injury has happened.

Dr. Sommers says, “Injuries rarely resolve on their own, especially if the improper technique continues. Lifting through pain is a recipe for chronic injury and the sooner you are properly diagnosed and treated the more likely you can expect a quicker return to pain-free activity.”

So don’t try to “avoid” a nagging injury.

It’s better that you take 2 days off now rather than being forced to take 2 months off in the future.

Train safe and listen to your health professional!

To find an A.R.T. practitioner in your area, simply Google, “Active Release Techniques + Your area”

**********************

Those are the 3 most important secrets for healing fast, however I have a few more tips for you.

Nutrition

I believe that nutrition plays a huge role in recovering from injury.

Dr. Sommers agrees, saying, “Certain foods promote inflammation within the body’s various systems while others have an anti-inflammatory effect.

“Avoiding pro-inflammatory foods (nightshade vegetables, white processed flour, and deep fried foods) and eating a diet rich in omega 3 fatty acids can only help speed up the healing process.”

(For those who don’t know: Potatoes, tomatoes, sweet and hot peppers, eggplant, paprika, cayenne, and Tabasco sauce are classified as nightshade foods.)

Personally, I recommend eating a diet of at least 10+ servings of fruits and vegetables per day. This should provide your body with the best healing environment. At worst, at least limit your intake of sugar, western diet, comfort food, etc., that promotes inflammation in the body.

I recommend my Simple Nutrition plan for fat loss & recovery:

Dr. Sommers says, “Each of us has to consider our own particular ability in trying to train safely. Fortunately our bodies are amazing communicators.

They give us warning signs when we’re verge of injury. Unusual aches and pains lasting longer than 48 hours should be taken seriously and all training should cease until it is deemed safe to continue.”

Be conservative!

Recovery As You Get Older

“Finally,” Dr. Sommers says, “Don’t forget that older bodies take longer to heal. Older muscle fiber requires longer recovery time, so whether it comes to recovering from heavy workouts or working through nagging tendon problems, age plays an important factor in return to activity planning.”

Be conservative!

Please forward this information on recovery from injury to your friends and family.

To your success,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS

Author, Turbulence Training

Note from Justin:  Amanda and her staff at Restore Therapeutic Massage in Eden Prairie are miracle workers!  They specialize in sports injury massage.  My boot camp members love it there. :-)

So far this week I’ve been focusing the blog posts on accountability and motivation.  They’ve been about getting started and staying on a weight loss and fitness program.  However, I do realize that there are people out there who really want to get started on a weight loss and fitness program but are limited by “injury.” 

Today, I have a guest post from my chiropractors Drs. Jeff and Katie Algajer of Discover Chiropractic in Chaska, MN.  They’re going to help us better understand low back pain and give us some ideas of how to deal with and correct it.

Eighty percent of people suffer from back pain at some point in their lives. Back pain is the second most common reason for visits to the doctor’s office, outnumbered only by upper-respiratory infections. In fact, it is estimated that low back pain affects more than half of the adult population each year and more than 10% of all people experience frequent bouts of low back pain.

As long as it is healthy and functioning correctly, the low back can withstand tremendous forces without injury. Professional powerlifters can pick up several hundred pounds off the floor without injuring their low back. However, if there is nerve interference (Subluxation), or improper nerve flow to the low back, something as simple as taking a bag of groceries out of the trunk of their car, picking something up off the floor, or even simply bending down to pet the cat can cause a low back injury.

Until recently, researchers believed that back pain would heal on its own. We have learned, however, that this is not true. Recent studies showed that when the cause of back pain is not treated, the pain may go away temporarily, but will most likely return. It is important to take low back pain seriously and seek professional chiropractic care, which specializes in normalizing the “tone” of the spinal cord, and restoring life to poorly functioning nerves.

The Causes of Low Back Pain

Subluxation can cause many different conditions that can result in low back pain, including: sprained ligaments, strained muscles, ruptured disks, trigger points and inflamed joints. While sports injuries or accidents can lead to injury and pain, sometimes even the simplest movements, like picking up a pencil from the floor, can have painful results. In addition, conditions such as arthritis, poor posture, obesity, psychological stress and even kidney stones, kidney infections, blood clots, or bone loss can lead to pain. 

Due to the fact that there are a whole lot of things that can cause low back pain, and some of those things can be quite serious if left untreated, it is important to seek professional help. Also, it is important to know that not all chiropractors are created equal. There are varying areas of expertise, techniques, and effectiveness, within the chiropractic field. It is important to find a chiropractor that specializes in detecting and correcting subluxation, which in turn, will allow your body’s natural healing ability to function at a higher level.

Disc Herniations

Contrary to popular belief, a herniated disc does not automatically mean that you are going to suffer from low back pain. In fact, one study found that almost half of all adults had at least one bulging or herniated disc, even though they did not suffer any back pain from it. On the other hand, herniated discs can be a source of intense and debilitating pain that frequently radiates to other areas of the body. Unfortunately, once a disc herniates, they rarely, if ever, completely heal. Further deterioration can often be avoided through regular chiropractic care, but the first step in the healing process is to remove any subluxations present.

Sprains, Strains and Spasms

This is commonly the source of low back pain among the weekend warriors. You know, the folks who have very little physical activity during the week, but once the weekend arrives, they push themselves way too much. By the end of the weekend, they are lying flat on their back counting down the hours before they can get in to see their chiropractor. Overworking the muscles or ligaments of the low back can lead to small tears in the tissues, which then become painful, swollen and tight. Subluxation lessens your body’s ability to adapt to these stresses, and can leave you susceptible to injury.

Stress

Whenever you become stressed, your body responds by increasing your blood pressure and heart rate, flooding your body with stress hormones and tightening up your muscles. When you are stressed all the time, the chronic tension causes your muscles to become sore, weak and loaded with trigger points. If you are stressed out all of the time and you have low back pain, it is important to do some relaxation exercises, such as deep breathing, as well as to get regular exercise. Stress can cause subluxation, and subluxation can lessen your body’s ability to deal with stress.

If you want to be free of back pain, it is important to be free of subluxation through regular, qualified chiropractic care, and lessening the stress that you encounter, physically, chemically and emotionally. 

In health, 
Dr. Jeff and Dr. Katie Algajer and staff

HAVE FAITH & TAKE ACTION!

Justin Yule, B.S., CPT, YFS

Your friendly neighborhood Chaska / Chanhassen boot camp instructor and online personal trainer.

Burn 9x more fat at a fraction of the cost of other personal training programs.

P.S. – For a FREE 2-week Trial to the area’s number one weight loss & fitness boot camp visit www.LookGreatAtTheLakeBootCamp.com

P.P.S. – Check out our ONLINE PERSONAL TRAINING BOOT CAMP at www.OnlineVideoBootCamp.com

Today, I’ve got a great guest post from my chiropractors, Dr. Jeff & Dr. Katie, at Discover Chiropractic in Chaska, MN.  They are big on youth fitness and love what I’m doing with Feel Great at the Playground Kids Boot Camp.  They also struggle with getting parents to understand the long-term approach to youth health & fitness.  I think most parents would prefer to think everything with their child is OK, and you know, I really can’t blame them.  Nobody want to think something might not be right with their child’s health.  Unfortunately, that thinking could be what leads to a problem actually occurring.  Check out today’s blog post to learn more about the importance of prevention when it comes to youth health and fitness.

Parents spend a lot of money to raise a child from birth to adulthood. However, how many parents really commit to not just spend money on their children, but invest in them? What do we mean by this? Well, an expense or expenditure is an outflow of money to another person or group to pay for an item or service. An investment also involves the outflow of resources, with one big difference: the expectation of a greater return.

Most parents choose to fill the family budget with “expenses”. However, these misplaced priorities often leave their budget with little room for investments. The result? We are living in a physically, spiritually and emotionally bankrupt society.

“Chiropractic care? That’s too expensive. A fitness program? It’s not in the budget. Buying organic food? The “regular” apples are cheaper. Family vacations or dinner around the table? Who has time? Church on Sunday morning? We’re too busy.”

So many parents are unaware of the returns that they are missing, by focusing their time, energy and financial resources on expenses as opposed to investments. Many parents also believe that they can’t afford to invest. In reality, the resources are usually there. All it takes, is a slight shift in thinking, and an adjustment in your priorities.

When a child is taught how to be healthy and well in these areas; physical, spiritual and emotional health, they are given a greater advantage than all of the “trust-fund babies” in the world. These are gifts that money cannot buy.

Living healthy and subluxation-free may mean the difference between having a brain firing on all cylinders, and being able to focus and excel in school, OR being distracted, and struggling through class. This in turn, may mean the difference between academic scholarships or underachievement. Being healthy and well, or living below your potential may mean the difference between getting or not getting that dream job; being a stand-out and getting the promotion, or just  blending in with the crowd.

A body that is fit and firing on all cylinders, and healing at 100% may mean the difference between excelling in athletics and receiving an athletic scholarship, Or sitting on the sidelines. The choice is yours; a healthy body that is filled with energy on a daily basis, or a body that is subluxated, overweight, out of shape, and headed toward sickness and disease.

Your child’s physical health will help determine their experience; longevity, energy and vitality, OR an unfit, early death.

Emotional and spiritual health is also important. A child that grows up spending quality time with family, being nurtured and knowing the love of their family, and their Creator, is better equipped to be a contributing, and positive member of our society.

If you are investing in your child’s all-around health by assuring they are subluxation-free (which means that there is no interference in the brain-body connection), you are WAY ahead of the game. You are allowing their inner wisdom to fully express itself, and setting the foundation to help them live up to their potential in all areas of health.

If you are living a physically healthy lifestyle, and teaching them the joy of daily physical activity, way to go! This example will be key, as they learn to care for their vessel. If you are teaching them how to properly fuel their bodies, with good nutrition, know that you are laying a foundation that will serve them well and lead them towards life and health. If you are taking steps to instill a spiritual foundation which will allow them to grow in faith, this is one of the greatest blessings that you could ever give to your child.

In closing, we believe that within every individual, there lies an amazing, and unique God-given potential. Each person on this earth is born with a purpose that only they can fulfill. Our human bodies are the vessel which hold our potential, and our purpose is expressed through these human bodies.

Please, teach your children how to care for their vessel, and invest in areas that will enhance their physical, spiritual and emotional health. It will set the tone for their entire life, and will certainly be one of the greatest investments that you will ever make.

In health,
Dr. Jeff and Dr. Katie Algajer and staff

P.S. – If you want to get your child involved in the best youth fitness program in Chanhassen, MN then go to www.FeelGreatKidsBootCamp.com right now!

P.P.S. – Feel Great at the Playground Kids Boot Camp is a comprehensive program developed by the brightest minds in the youth fitness industry.  I’m honored to bring it to Chanhassen, MN.

This week I’m focusing on youth fitness programs and youth obesity solutions.  Today, I’m honored to have a guest blog post from Brian Grasso, founder and CEO of the International Youth Fitness Association (IYCA).  Brian is a world-renowned expert on youth fitness and youth obesity, and he’s one of the most passionate people I’ve ever met when it comes to youth fitness and youth obesity.

Here’s Brian…

I’m going to start by telling you what very few other people are willing to…

… The truth is, there should be no incidents of overweight or obese youth with the exception of those with medical conditions.
There should be no excuse beyond that.

With daily exercise and attention to proper nutrition, obesity and overweight concerns cease to be problems.

As a matter of fact, the one and only solution to youth obesity and overweight conditions lies in exercise and good nutrition.

And these things have to become a habit in your life and your child’s.

Because exercise and proper eating are the only methods I advocate, and the only ones that work, I’m not going to spend time discussing trends, fads, or crazes.

Youth obesity is not a short-term problem.

It is not going to resolve itself with a short-term solution.

It’s not about a magic pill. It’s not about restricting calories for a short period of time or running on a treadmill for as long as you can stand.

It’s about honest to goodness, wholesale life changes, day by day, in small incremental steps that eventually lead to a large change.

Our biggest mistake was when we started believing and buying into short-term, lazy, and quick-fix solutions.

We have been naïve, and we have been wrong, and look where it’s gotten us.

So, if you’re not prepared to hear the truth, then this free ‘Final Solution’ report isn’t for you.

This is not going to be a quick-fix solution, but it will be a solution, and a final one at that.

It’s not going to take enormous amounts of work; in fact, it’s going to take a very insignificant amount of work day by day.

It’s not quick and it’s not necessarily easy, but it will be effective, and it’s the solution you’re looking for.

Let me start here -

People used to be active daily as a matter of being.

It wasn’t something we had to make time for.

We didn’t need a designated place to do it (such as a gym), or time (such as right after work).

Children walked, ran, played, climbed trees, and wrestled with their friends.

Most adults worked physical jobs and spent their leisure time outdoors.

In only the past two decades, this lifestyle seems to have been almost completely replaced.

When I was a kid, physical activity was at the core of my being.

Every morning in the summer, I’d wake up, have breakfast, and head outside.

I would be gone for the next several hours—riding my bike, playing pick-up games of baseball, football, or basketball with my friends, climbing trees, and playing tag.

Hours upon hours of just being active for fun.

Becoming overweight wasn’t something I even thought about.

And as I moved into adulthood, the habit of being active that I had established as a child remained.

Naturally, as the demands of my schedule increased, I had to start carving out specific times to be active.

I had to plan gym workouts and times when I would go for a run, but I made sure to be physical in some capacity every single day.

Being physical and active were ingrained in me to the point that if I couldn’t get up and do something regularly, I’d know that my priorities weren’t in order and would need to be corrected.

As human beings, our bodies are programmed to be active—to move every single day.

We are movement-oriented machines.

And in fact, to not be active—to be sedentary—goes against everything that our bodies have been built for.

It’s not just that our bodies are built for activity, but they intuitively want to be active and healthy.

To eat less than wholesome foods (processed foods) and to be inactive goes against the very nature of being human, and we pay for that lifestyle with declining health.

We have been led to believe that regimented exercise is the only path to health and weight loss.

The general thinking is that if you want to get in shape, you have to go to the gym, hit the treadmill for a certain number of minutes, lift weights for a few sets, etc.

But again, all the human body wants to do is move, and there’s no better way to move, and to enjoy that movement, than by playing games.

Playing a physical game and really competing to win takes tremendous energy.

It’s not just a way for children to blow off steam or kill time.

Give it a try and you’ll see what I mean.

Tomorrow, go for a walk on a treadmill or a 20-minute jaunt on a stair master, and then the day after go climb a tree with your kid or go to the local park and try to move around on the monkey bars.

Then tell me which is “harder”… and more importantly, more fun!

Now here’s the final point you need to understand.

If I asked you whether your seven year-old could pass the second grade in a month, what would you say?

No, of course, because the school year is designed for a reason.

Lessons and skills need time to be learned and developed.

And as we ascend through the grades of elementary, junior high, and then high school, the curriculum becomes more advanced and more progressive.

You couldn’t possibly pass grade 12 calculus if you didn’t take and understand elementary mathematics like addition, subtraction, division, and multiplication beforehand.

Exercise and nutrition work exactly the same way.

That’s why I keep restating the point that crash dieting and/or crash exercising isn’t effective for long-term improvements.

We first must establish small, daily goals of nutrition and exercise.

These are little things, like trying to eat more frequently on Day 1, and then eventually changing the foods you eat over time.

I would be overjoyed if tomorrow, even though you had been sedentary for some time now, you took your kids out to play for five minutes.

The next day you could play for seven minutes, and the day after that, 10.

I know the change may seem so slight that it couldn’t possibly make a difference, but it absolutely does.

Think in terms of progression.

Exercise and nutrition are just like school.

You don’t have to know everything on your first day.

Just apply yourself over time and, before you know it, you’ve graduated.

But here’s the kicker…

… YOU have to be the captain of this ship.

Seriously.

Obesity is a learned behavior.

Your kids don’t buy the groceries.

Your kids don’t prepare the meals.

Your kids play video games endlessly if they aren’t given boundaries.

If you adopt a healthier lifestyle, so will your kids.

If you happily enjoy at least one wholesome meal a day, so will your kids.

If you hum-and-haw about having to go outside a play for 5 minutes before you park it in front of the TV for the rest of the night… So will your kids and clients!

The real secret to this report being your final solution is this -

It has to include the whole family and starts from the top down.

Make the decision RIGHT NOW to live a better and more healthy life and watch over time as your kids do the same.

It won’t be quick and may not be easy.

But it will work and it will be final.

Brian Grasso is the Founder and CEO of the International Youth Conditioning Association.  He also just released his new book entitled ‘The Youth Obesity Solution’.  For a FREE copy of Brian’s amazing book, go to www.FeelGreatKidsBootCamp.com.

Thanks Brian!

And remember, Feel Great at the Playground Kids Boot Camp is the perfect way to get your kids involved in a fun fitness program this summer!

Have Faith & Take Action!

Justin Yule, B.S., CPT, YFS

President, Feel Great at the Playground Kids Boot Camp

There are many factors that come into play that affect how well a woman ages  Here are some anti-aging tips from my friend Lori Eskew to help mom stay looking young.

Aging is 10% genetic and 90% environmental.

The good news is that means we do have some control over our wrinkles.  There are several life style factors, product choices, and the direct way we take care of our skin on a daily basis that all have a share of the controllable aspect of aging.  Most women are not wishing they had more wrinkles and they would love to find a healthy way to reverse or stop the advancement of aging.

One of the first things and an easy thing to do is to take a trip to the bathroom and pull out the personal care products you use every day such as your face wash, lotions and creams, and make-up.

Do you really know what you are putting on your skin and if it is actually helping your anti-aging efforts?

Skin care products and cosmetics are not controlled by the FDA so it is up to the consumer to determine if a product is truly effective while also being safe. There is a considerable amount of confusion concerning products and there is also a vast difference in them.  It is very important to always read labels and avoid certain ingredients.  You have probably seen long lists of ingredients with words so long and unrecognizable they look like a foreign language.  Most women do not have the time to do research on every ingredient nor do they want to.

So how do you know what to look for if you do not have a science degree on product ingredients?

A few important key words to look for are “mineral oil,” “contains no animal by-products or vegan certified,” and “pH-correct.” Mineral oil is something you want to always avoid.  Why?  It is an occlusive oil and petroleum based, which means it can interfere with advanced delivery systems and those delivery systems are what you need to support your anti-aging routine.  Try this; rub a small amount of petroleum or baby oil (pure mineral oil with chemical scent) on the back of your hand or arm.  Now spritz it with water and try to rub the moisture into your skin.  The oil acts as a barrier, like a plastic film over your skin and prevents it from being hydrated – the reason women apply creams and lotions is to hydrate the skin.  Most companies use mineral oil because it is inexpensive and thus a cheap filler in the majority of skin care washes, lotions, and make-up.  Your goal is to decrease wrinkles, not preserve them.

Do the products you use contain by-products and do you know how they affect you and your family?

Most skin care and cosmetic companies are not animal free.  In his book Mad Cowboy, Howard F. Lyman, who is a cattle rancher states,

“Animal by-products…It’s a nasty little secret that the cosmetic companies DON’T want you to know.”

Have you heard of rendering plants?  These plants are where farm animals, road kill, euthanized pets, and other waste is taken.  Mr. Lyman goes on to say,

“When this gruesome mix is ground and steam cooked, the lighter, fatty material floating to the top gets refined for use in such products as cosmetics, lubricants, soaps, candles, and waxes.”

Even diseased animals and the hormones and steroids in them are included in the toxic brew.  If it does not say, “contains no animal by-products” or “vegan certified” you are probably wearing it on your skin.  The harmful ingredients are pollution to your body and skin and work against your anti-aging efforts.

“pH correct” is another important factor in pursuit of an effective anti-aging routine. Your skin has a natural barrier to protect it from bacteria and help it accept moisture.  If you upset the normal pH mantel it will have a negative effect on the way your skin ages.  Sometimes a product will say it is “pH balanced.” This often means that if you use two or more products from the same line they will balance each other out so you get the correct pH for your skin.  One product should not be dependent on another product to restore the correct pH to your skin.

Many companies do not list all that the product contains on the bottle due to a lack of space on the label.  You should be able to find it on the box or packaging so before you restock your current products take the time to read what it says to make sure it truly is an anti-aging product.   If you order your products on line or from a catalog the company should be able to provide you with the information you need.  Some recommended questions to ask next time you are at a make-up or skin care counter are:

• Do the products contain any form of mineral oil, or petroleum products?
• Do the products contain animal by-products or are they vegan certified?
• Are all the products individually ph correct and not just ph balanced?

If the representative does not know the answer than it probably is not a product you want to use if you are seeking the best in anti-aging.  If a company avoids harmful ingredients they want to tell you about it.

These are just a few anti-aging tips to help moms keep their youthful appearance.

Lori Eskew is an Independent Consultant for Arbonne International.

For more information about anti-aging or to schedule a complimentary anti-aging & skin care lesson please contact Lori Eskew at lori.eskew@gmail.com.

There are many types of knee injuries that occur, particularly when one is actively engaged in sporting activities.  Typically, these fall into two catagories: acute, and chronic.  Acute injuries, such as a ligament tear or a fracture, need immediate medical care, and often surgery.  The purposes of this article are to address the second, much more common, type—chronic knee pain.  Obviously, there are many factors with any health issue and injury, and it is always wise to seek medical care for concerns.  Here, I will lay out the analysis and treatment plan of an extremely common syndrome.

Explanation:

Although chronic knee pain may have had a less dramatic onset, it can be no less painful.  It can cause swelling, a loss of range of motion, and severe pain.  Often, this starts from a simple muscle imbalance.  In simplified terms, muscles cross joints.  This is how we move—the muscle contracts, the joint moves.

Diagram of muscles crossing the knee joint

When muscles don’t pull evenly on a joint, dysfunction and pain result.  In the case of a knee, the quadriceps (thigh) muscles are the major players here.  The “quads” are a group of four muscles (hence the name) whose function is to extend the knee.  These four powerful muscles run down the thigh, form the patellar tendon at the lower end, and run through the knee joint.

Diagram of the Quads

Diagram of Vastus Lateralis

Frequently, the outer quad—named “vastus lateralis” becomes tighter and pulls harder than the other three quad muscles.  The result—a torque is placed on the patella (knee cap), it stops tracking properly, and starts hurting.  Without intervention, this syndrome typically does not correct itself, but usually becomes worse with activity.  It is however, very responsive to specific stretches, foam rolling, and to sports massage.  These will be detailed later.

There is a secondary aspect to this pain syndrome, again related to musculature. If a muscle is overly tight, it reduces the space between the bones in a joint.  This increases friction and causes “wear and tear”. As mentioned previously, muscles cross joints.  Overly tight muscles, in addition to causing potentially painful imbalances, also reduce the space between the bones in a joint.  This increases friction and causes “wear and tear”.

Joint Space – Healthy Knee vs. Tight Knee

Maintaining joint space is the best defense against “wear and tear” injuries and arthritis.  The following techniques, in addition to restoring lateral balance to a knee joint, will help to restore joint space as well. Although these are knee-specific techniques, the basic concepts of stretching, foam-rolling, and sports massage can be applied to all joints.

Treatment:

Vastus Lateralis Stretch:

1) This stretch starts as a basic quad stretch, lying on your side (affected side up).  The top foot is grasped by your top hand and pulled in toward your hip until a stretch is felt down the quad area.

Basic Quad Stretch

2) Then, while holding the quad stretch, the lower heel is brought up and hooked over the top knee.

Hook Lower Heel over Top Knee

3) Finally, maintaining 1 and 2, use your heel to pull your bent knee toward the floor.  This will place a direct stretch on your outer quad (vastus lateralis)

Pull Knee toward Floor with Heel

Foam Roller Technique:

Foam rollers have recently become a popular therapeutic tool.  They are extremely effective, particularly for treating knee, hip, and leg issues.  They are available for purchase at many running and sporting goods stores, or for use at most health clubs.

Foam rollers are used by balancing body weight on the roller, and slowly rolling along the roller surface.  As problem areas are reached, you can slow your pace, or even pause.  This can be quite uncomfortable—verging on downright painful!—but will improve as your tissue heals.  What is happening?  Basically, the pressure of the roller creates a deep stretch within your muscle, lengthening very specifically exactly where you need it.  The more you roll, the better your leg/knee will feel.

There are two different techniques that I recommend for knee pain. (See Below)
A)     Roll down the side of your leg from your hip to the top of your knee and back.  This area is called your “IT Band” (Iliotibial Band).  This is made easier by bringing your top leg in front (as shown) or harder by stacking it on top of your bottom leg for more weight.

B)    Roll your quads from your hips to your knees and back, paying particular attention to the outer quad on each leg.

Sports Massage:

Stretching the musculature crossing the joint will maintain muscle length and suppleness, thereby maintaining joint space.  Sports massage, in essence, is a micro-stretching of the muscle, targeting specific muscle fibers in a way that stretching alone cannot.   Massage relaxes and lengthens tight muscles, reducing their pull across a joint.  This reduces the pressure and increases joint space, increasing flexibility and range.

Each joint has many muscles crossing it and affecting it.  A sports therapist with a thorough knowledge of anatomy will be able to test and assess which muscles are restricting range of motion and work to lengthen them and increase your joint flexibility.

In addition to the manual techniques used to relax the muscle, most sports massage sessions will incorporate different kinds of stretching to change the neuromuscular settings in the muscle itself.  Each muscle in the body contains receptors which communicate with the brain to prevent both over-stretching and over-contraction.  By stimulating or relaxing these receptors, the message between the brain and the muscle can be altered, thereby changing the muscle length.

Treating a tight and restricted joint with sports massage is key to preventing injury and extended recuperation periods while engaging in vigorous athletic training.

For any of your sports massage questions or needs, please call Restore Therapeutic Massage at 952.484.4488.  We specialize in Deep Tissue, Sports Massage and Injury Rehabilitation.  Our highly skilled and experienced therapists are able to help you stay on the road to athletic achievement.
We have special student discount rates.

Convenient online scheduling and information available at www.restoremassagetherapy.com

In health,

Amanda Mazzocchi, NCTMB

Owner, Restore Therapeutic Massage

Everybody want a flat sexy stomach. Just look at the fact that Americans spend over $250,000,000 (that’s 250 MILLION DOLLARS) a year on abdominal training equipment and programs!

The reality is, they’re all a bunch of crap.  They prey on people who want the easy way out.

I’ve never endorsed one and up to this point never thought I would.

In fact, I was actually planning on creating an info product (ebook and DVDs) this year to educate people on how to incorporate total-body exercise and quality nutrition program to get flat abs.  It was going to be all truth and no hype.  The fact is you have to workout really hard and eat right to get six-pack abs.  If you’re not willing to do that then forget it.

Well, Craig Ballantyne beat me to it!  DAMN IT!! 

Oh well.  Craig’s a solid guy and I’ve been following his newsletter for over a year.  We’re on the same page when it comes to proper training for getting a flat, sexy stomach so I’m happy to just be an affiliate of his program rather than creating my own product – at least for now

Craig wrote an awesome blog post today – 5 Weird Flat Abdominal Fitness Tips.  It’s on my blog and I’ve included it below as well.

Enjoy.  It’s great stuff—————————————————————————————

5 Weird Flat Abdominal Fitness Tips

By Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
http://tinyurl.com/TTabsDVD

If you’ve been struggling to get flat, sexy abs and burn belly fat with traditional workouts, then you are going to love these 5 weird abdominal exercise and diet tips.

Over the last 13 years as a trainer and athlete, I’ve been studying every expert and research study I can find about the best way to get flat abs.

Today, you’ll discover 5 weird tips you might not know when it comes to getting a flat stomach and firm abs.

Tip #1 – The best interval training work-to-rest ratio for losing belly fat might be 1-to-1.5.

In an Australian study, researchers found that doing intervals for 8 seconds followed by 12 seconds of rest resulted in significantly more belly fat burning than long slow cardio.

Now I know that 8 seconds on and 12 seconds off sounds a little annoying (just try doing that on a machine), but the good news is that these researchers found that going for 24 seconds followed by a 36 second rest works just as well for boosting fat burning hormones.

Tip #2 – Dr. Chris Mohr’s #1 weird diet tip is…

I just finished up a fat loss nutrition interview with Dr. Mohr and he told me that his simple, yet slightly weird #1 diet tip for fat loss is…

“Get almost all of your carbohydrates from fruits and vegetables.”

I really liked that tip because I’ve been telling people this for years, and it’s part of the Fat Loss Foundation you’ll discover in my Simple Nutrition manual & DVD.

#3 – You need to be able to do a Plank exercise for 2 minutes.

Dr. Stuart McGill, the world’s leading expert on low back health, says in his book that a person with fit abs should be able to do a plank exercise for 2 minutes straight.

If you can’t do the plank for 2 minutes, then you need to lose belly fat and you need to get an abdominal workout DVD program that works your abs properly.

Here are the best abdominal exercises DVDs you can get:
http://tinyurl.com/TTabsDVD

#4 – New research shows that supersets training burns more calories than traditional straight set resistance training.

And that’s exactly what you’ll get in every short, burst exercise workout.

The short, burst superset programs save you time (getting you done in half the time of a traditional resistance workout) while helping you burn more fat.

#5 – To see your abs, a man will need to be close to 10% fat and a woman will need to be at about 16% fat.

Of course, the more muscle you have, the easier it will be too see your abs, so you’ll still be able to see a 4-pack on muscular guys when they have 12-13% fat.

But the bottom line is that you need to use the Simple Nutrition plan combined with the short, burst exercise workouts to burn belly fat to see your sexy abs.

BONUS Tip – A great way to work your abs harder than normal planks is the Stability Ball Plank.

Research reported in Men’s Health magazine reported this exercise to be 30% harder on your abs than a regular plank.

And last Friday I used an interesting technique with this exercise that caused my abs to be sore for days. But that’s another story for another weird abdominal exercise article – coming soon!

Remember, for the best flat abdominal exercises and belly fat burning circuits, you need the TT for Abs Home Exercise DVDs & Simple Nutrition plan from this website:

http://tinyurl.com/TTabsDVD
———————————————————————————————

As a SPECIAL BONUS, when you purchase Craig’s Turbulence Training for Abs DVDs with my affiliate link, I’m going to throw in a copy of my ebook The Science of Getting Fit:  6 Proven Steps to Achieve Your Weight Loss & Fitness Goals.

Armed with Craig’s DVDs and my book, you’re going to be set-up strong to achieve not just great abs, but a damn-sexy body all over!

Just be sure to shoot me an email with a copy of your receipt.  I’ll then send you a link to the book and all the BONUSES – VALUED AT OVER $200!!!

http://tinyurl.com/TTabsDVD

Trust me; Craig’s a solid trainer and his products deliver.  I’d NEVER put my name on something if didn’t believe in it.  Craig and I share a very similar training philosophy – I use a lot of his stuff in my training program and my boot camps.  If you want a great set of at-home, follow-along training DVDs these are definitely my top choice.

http://tinyurl.com/TTabsDVD

Have Faith & Take Action!

Justin Yule, B.S., CPT

Your friendly neighborhood Chaska / Chanhassen boot camp instructor and online personal trainer.

Burn 9x more fat at a fraction of the cost of other personal training programs.

P.S. – For a FREE 2-week Trial to the area’s number one weight loss & fitness boot camp visit www.LookGreatAtTheLakeBootCamp.com

P.P.S. – For a $9 30-day Trial to the first and number one Online weight loss & fitness boot camp visit www.OnlineVideoBootCamp.com